Jan 31 (Day 31) - Warm temps + no wind + flat roads = perfect day!

Today was hands down the most enjoyable ride of the trip. Temperatures started in the mid 20's and climbed into the low 50s by the time I had covered the 63 miles from Fredericksburg to Richmond. This took approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes, and nearly the entire time was spent on a rural road on which there was relatively little traffic. This included a 30 minute rest stop several shorter stops for birding. It is really encouraging to know that I can cruise along at 10-12 mph for extended periods of time. I will need to do much more of this in the next few weeks. I saw lots of vultures, both black and turkey, as well as a handful of pileated woodpeckers and what seemed like endless bluebirds along the length of the ride. Birding from the bike was very enjoyable and productive today.

I have never visited this part of the country, and I have no idea if I will ever return to this region in the future. As a result of this, I really tried to soak up as much as the scenery as possible. I traversed farms, pine woodlands, logging tracts, small towns, and even a moderately sized urban area towards the end of the day. This was the first day that the riding felt like a vacation versus a chore. I am really looking forward to more days like this in the future. Today I realized how incredibly fortunate I am to behaving this adventure. It was an amazingly beautiful and encouraging end to what was an exceptionally challenging first month. I am sure there are going to be many more challenges in my future, but it is good to know I was able to handle this first big hurdle. The highlight of the day was surely mailing my huge North Face down parka back to Philadelphia. I am hoping that I won't regret this decision, but I am feeling incredibly optimistic heading into month 2!

I'm at 127 species as of today, 1/31? Who knows where I'll be on 2/28.....